Triterpenoid profile of fruit and leaf cuticular waxes of edible honeysuckle Lonicera caerulea var. kamtschatica

Abstract

Edible honeysuckle (honeyberry) Lonicera caerulea is becoming popular as a novel berry crop with several useful features such as early fruit ripening and exceptional hardiness, particularly resistance to pests and diseases as well as severe frosts in winter and droughts in summer. The triterpenoid profile of fruit and leaf cuticular waxes of edible honeysuckle (a Russian cultivar Chernichka) was analyzed by GC-MS. The major compounds identified were the tetracyclic triterpenoids campesterol, cholesterol, cycloartanol, cycloart-23-ene-3,25-diol, 24-methylenecycloartanol (only in leaves), sitosterol, stigmasta-3,5-dien-7-one, and stigmasterol; and the pentacyclic triterpenes: α-amyrin, β-amyrin, hop-22(29)-en-3-one, oleanolic acid, and ursolic acid. Several remarkable features of the analyzed triterpenoid contents were revealed, including the relatively low abundance of triterpenoids in fruit waxes (6.5% of wax extract) compared to leaf waxes (22%), and a particularly high proportion of tetracyclic triterpenoids (tetracyclic to pentacyclic compound ratios of 4:1 in fruits and almost 7:1 in leaves). These rare features distinguish the triterpenoid profile of the cuticular waxes of L. caerulea var. kamtschatica from the majority of triterpenoid profiles in plant cuticular waxes investigated to date. To our knowledge, this is the first quantitative compositional study on triterpenoid compounds in the cuticular waxes of edible honeysuckle, supplementing the knowledge of cuticular triterpenoid diversity and distribution.

Blue honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea subsp. edulis (Turcz. ex Herder) Hultén.) berries and changes in their ingredients across different locations

“…In the plant kingdom, saponins protect the plant against biotic stresses and are located in the cuticles. Becker et al . reported that these metabolites are healthy for human consumption.…”

“…VV and VG had low annual temperatures and also high saponin contents. Saponins from the Lonicera genus are known to include hederagenin and oleanolic acid . For plants containing these saponins, Szakiel et al .…”

“…Cyanogenic glycosides, organic acids and sugars are responsible for the flavor in different fruits . In addition to previously recorded metabolites, many plants belonging to the Lonicera genus accumulate saponins inside the plant organs as a self‐defense mechanism, which is the main difference from blueberry . Saponins are also health‐promoting compounds.…”

Different extraction processes affect the metabolites in blue honeysuckle(Loniceracaerulea L. subsp. edulis) food products

“…The taste is bitter to tart-sweet as a mixture of known berry flavors (Hummer et al, 2012). The berries have become popular because of their nutraceutical and health-promoting properties due to their numerous and various beneficial ingredients, such as vitamins, minerals, polyphenolics, iridoids, and saponins (Jurikova et al, 2009(Jurikova et al, , 2012Becker et al, 2017;Oszmiański and Kucharska, 2018). Additionally, they have a low sugar content compared to some other fruits and may thus be a good source for people with diabetes (Palikova et al, 2009).…”

The impact of drying on bioactive compounds of blue honeysuckle berries (Lonicera caerulea var. edulis Turcz. ex Herder)

“…The berries from blue honeysuckle have become popular because of their health-promoting properties. They contain nutraceutical compounds, such as vitamins, minerals, polyphenolics, iridoids and saponins (Jurikova et al 2009, 2012, Becker et al 2017, Oszmiański and Kucharska 2018. Additionally, they contain a low sugar content compared to some other fruits, which could make them a good source of nutrition for people with diabetic troubles (Palíková et al 2009).…”